Desire Path

                bare feet in the summer                     a flattened note
I scrape paths through the endless field of desire                         fresh as lemon skin
        comb through dry grass                 pan for gold                             pull

ring finger     index finger     sun-warmed apricots on a shattered plate
        I’ve memorized the slope from knuckle to forearm             on a clenched hand
                shriveled leaf clutching at empty air
                                an offering
        the space between each knuckle
sun shuddering through trees
        an offering


I have seeded the earth with red poppies         lips numb, I open
        for nobody else             I come under                 my own hand
                snap the rope                 one fiber at a time

the space between each breath             widening
        want                         erases itself from vocabulary     tears itself to pieces     like bread

whatever comes next ribboning             poured honey
                                                                                                    thick, unbroken, mine